APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR POLISHING MULTIPLE SEMICONDUCTOR WAFERS IN PARALLEL

摘要

A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus (100) and method for polishing semiconductor wafers utilizing multiple wafer carriers (104A) (104B) to polish a corresponding number of semiconductor wafers on a single polishing pad (102) in parallel. In one embodiment, the wafer carriers are used to transfer semiconductor wafers between one or more wafer transfer stations (108) and the polishing pad. In other embodiments, one or more wafer transfer arms (302A) (302B) are used to transfer the emiconductor wafers between the wafer transfer station(s) (108) and the carriers(104A) (104B). The CMP apparatus, is configured to sequentially process semiconductor wafers to increase the throughput of the apparatus. In addition, the components of the CMP apparatus are arranged such that the footprint of the apparatus is minimized.